Before Mickey
by Mr. Awesome Guitarfreak
Summary: A prequel of Epic Mickey. All the events leading up to the game, and even further before the creation of Wasteland. Thinking he has no hope, Oswald tries to find some form of contact when he runs into the Mad Doctor and they befriend each other. For now.
1. Prologue: Before Wasteland

**Prologue: Before Wasteland**

It was nighttime in Toontown, and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was having a house party. All of his friends had been invited to this house party, and it was going to be a blast! Everyone was so excited because Oswald's parties were legendary. At eight everyone would arrive, and they'd have dinner. At nine, anything could happen. There had been fun times at the Ol Swimmin Hole, a jam session in the piano bar, and even cow tipping at the farm which ended in them all being chased away by a Mad Farmer, the Mad Doctor's redneck cousin. What were they going to do this time? That was Oswald's decision. No one even knew what that was yet, but they all were excited anyway. Oswald truly was the ultimate party animal. But of course, there was so much to do before the big shindig. Oswald spent all day decorating his house with streamers, buying party favors, baking a cake, making a recipe, and all this while on the set of his newest cartoon, which he'd later be showing at his party.

Oswald had about thirty minutes of his day that he spent doing nothing before the party. Lying bored on the couch, he flipped channels until the doorbell finally rang. It was Ortensia, Oswald's lover.

"Hey, Oswald," she said, glaring at Oswald while his ears perked up.

"Hi, Ortensia. You're the first one here. Want to help set up?" Oswald replied.

"Okay. What do we have to do?" asked Ortensia.

The doorbell rang.

"You could answer that," said Oswald.

In came the rest of Oswald's friends, and the party began. Awesome music played as the guests danced and ate dinner. It looked as though everything was going great. Until, of course, the clock struck nine.

"Oswald, bro," said Clarence Crocodile. "I'm not feeling so good, dude. I'm, like, super tired right now. I mean, Wally Whale over there just passed out."

Oswald rushed over to the unconscious Whale. He really had passed out. Just from watching this, Oswald felt a little shaky in the knees and began to fall to the floor. Ortensia came over to Oswald and asked him,

"Oswald, are you okay? Oswald? Hello?"

So much ran through the cartoon character's mind. _What's happening to me? Was it something in the cake?_ Oswald's vision blurred and his head felt like it was spinning... It looked like it would be the end for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and it seemed the other guests were headed the same way. By the end of the party, everyone had fainted.

Oswald woke up in the middle of a town. _Where am I? Am I dead? Am I dreaming? This place looks just like Main Street, but where is everyone?_

"Hello?" Oswald asked. There was no response. "Is there anyone out here?"


	2. Alone At Last?

**Chapter One: Alone... At Last?**

Oswald was still confused as to where he was. It looked just like the regular main street, but it was completely empty. There were no cars, no foot traffic, and there was not one person in the buildings around it. Oswald tried still, but failed to find any signs of life whatsoever. Still, he screamed at the top of his lungs,

"IS THERE ANYBODY OUT HERE? ANSWER ME!"

"Hello, Oswald," another mysterious voice said.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" said Oswald panicking. "Show yourself."

"My name is Yen Sid. I am not here. I am watching over this world," the mysterious voice said again.

"Where am I?" asked Oswald scratching his head.

"This is Wasteland. A land for the forgotten. The replaced. The left behind," said Yen Sid.

Oswald took a moment to take that in. "If this is a world for the forgotten, then why am I here?"

"You are one of the forgotten, Oswald, as well as one of the replaced. And by 1938, you shall be one of the left behind."

Oswald moped from that point on. He couldn't believe that he was doing so well for himself, and then all of a sudden, he was forgotten. He wanted to know more.

"Yen Sid?" asked Oswald.

"Yes, Oswald?"

"Is there anyone else here?"

"I'm afraid not."

While it was cool that Oswald was the only person in this world Wasteland, it was also sad knowing that he was the first of the forgotten, rejected characters. _I think I'll make myself the official leader of this world. And maybe I'll customize it, too. I know it's bad now, but maybe someone else will come here, too._ Oswald thought that maybe, if this were an exact replica of Toontown, that he could find his house somewhere. He started for the end of Main Street and it led him straight to the center of Toontown, but he was still unable to find his house. He checked in the neighborhoods, but he couldn't find his house. At last, he checked the final neighborhood where he was sure his house would be. On the end of the block, there was a yellow house that looked a little like his. He walked over to it, and it seemed to be his. _A yellow house? My house is green. Whose house is this?_

Knowing he wouldn't anger the fellow who lived there, he entered the house and looked around inside of it to see if he knew who this person was. He looked at the calendar, March 8, 1928. He looked around for photo albums, pictures, even the stranger's bedroom to see who this person was. Oswald was about to give up when he saw the shelf above the fireplace. The contents of the shelf included many framed photos. Oswald saw pictures of a male mouse, someone whom Oswald thought was the mouse's girlfriend, and a dog. He took the picture of the mouse and his lover out of the frame to read what the back said. It appeared to be a note of some kind:

"_Dear Mickey, Have a Happy Birthday. I hope that whenever you see this picture, you think of us._

_ Minnie."_

Oswald was right. 'Minnie' was 'Mickey's' lover, but who was the dog? Oswald went into the backyard and read the name on the doghouse. "Pluto." _Odd name for a dog, but __alright_. Oswald exited Mickey's house thinking, _If Mickey's house is in place of mine, maybe _Mickey _replaced _me! Poor Oswald lost it. Not only because he would have to find another place to live, but now he _knew_ who replaced him. Oswald decided that, since Wasteland was his, he would build a mansion for himself to live in. He didn't know how long it would take him to build it, but he knew it would definitely keep him busy. At least until someone else showed up.

The next morning, Oswald began to gather supplies for his new mansion. It took him all day, but he found quite a bit of lumber from a construction site, and a paintbrush. It wouldn't be of much use, but it looked like it did something cool, so he kept it. In Main Street's City Hall, Oswald found paper on which he drew blueprints for his mansion. It was to be a giant house with a red carpet and a master bedroom bigger than any building in Wasteland. The backyard was going to have a pool, a fountain, and a statue of him walking with his longtime friend and creator Walt Disney. This would be the best mansion ever built.


	3. A Year?

**Chapter Two: A Year?**

After one year, Oswald had finally put together his dream mansion in his world of loneliness, just outside of Toontown, which he renamed OsTown. A year. Even without the building permit hassle. Had it really been that long, or was Oswald just thinking things like he often did. The difference this time was that he had no one to steer him back to reality. For two reasons: He was alone. Second, he was not in reality, as far as he knew. The realest thing there was himself. Blowing his thoughts aside, Oswald walked into his new mansion. He opened the gilded gate with an "O" on it for "Oswald," and looked upon his well gardened courtyard, perfect for afternoon tea with the queen, had she only existed in this world to see it. Oswald continued to the front door and opened it, but by the time he looked inside, it all became too much to bear. Even if this world was an illusion, the place was far too real to be fake.

The entry hall was glorious, donning an enormous red rug that spread for at least a mile. Along the hall were doors that led to all of the mansion's rooms, which were equal in spiffiness. As Oswald cruised through his wonderful mansion, he patted himself on the back and thought, _job well done. Point for the OsMan!_

So if a year has gone by, one would think, Oswald would be pretty lonely. They would be right. So as he was sitting on his giant bed in his master bedroom that took up 30% of the house, he decided to turn on the TV. He pressed the button on the screen only to find that every channel was blank. He then realized, _if there's no one here but me, there's no one here to make shows._ A brilliant idea formed in his mind.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the Oswald Show!" The atmosphere was big and bright, like something out of Las Vegas. The stage anyway. The audience, however, was as dull as a knife after suicide. It was more empty than the reunion of the Spice Girls. It was then when Oswald gave up on TV and retired to his mansion, laughing at himself at how hilarious that was.

Laughing then turned to extreme boredom, as Oswald lay on his bed thinking about everyone he missed. This predictably turned into sadness.

Oswald quickly left his mansion and started for the center of OsTown, where he had talked to the invisible being Yen Sid a year ago.

"YEN SID!" screamed Oswald at the top of his lungs.

"Jesus, you don't have to yell. I'm right up here, where I always am, overseeing this whole place," Sid responded.

"Oh, sorry," said Oswald. "I didn't know if you were going to get a coffee or something, or if you were on the can or something. Do they have toilets up there?"

"Never mind that. What did you want to say, Oswald?" asked Yen Sid.

"Well, it's been a year. I was wondering if there's anyone else here?"

"There is one person. His name is the Mad Doctor. He had a cartoon that came out recently, but Disney scrapped him, and that's how he ended up here. He's on Unnamed Island."

"Is it actually called that?"

"Yes, but only because nothing is there except him. Maybe you should show him around."

"Yes, that's exactly what I should do!"

An eager Oswald rushed towards the water, where he found a boat and sailed to Unnamed Island. He saw a shadow out onto the island of what appeared to be a hunched-over man with glasses and sideburns. He sailed over to it and walked up to the shadow.

"You must be the Mad Doctor!" he said, delightedly as he stuck out his hand. "My name's Oswald. I've been here for a year now."

It appeared that the Mad Doctor wasn't paying that much attention.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "Pleased to meet you, Oswald. Oswald, can you tell me how I got here? One day I'm giving surgeries to toons and the next day I wind up here. How is that possible?"

Oswald remembered the night he passed out at his own party. He remembered everyone that was there, too. Oswald shed a tear, then proceeded to tell the Mad Doctor how it all was possible.

"I," Oswald took a breath. "I think there's something you'll want to see. Hop in the boat."

The Mad Doctor got in to Oswald's boat and Oswald rowed up to the OsTown dock. He docked the boat and had the Mad Doctor follow him to the neighborhoods.

"It all looks just like Toontown," said the Mad Doctor.

"I was the first one here, so I renamed it OsTown," said Oswald with a slight chuckle.

"I guess that is kinda funny," the Mad Doctor had a chuckle himself.

"Anyways, this is our stop." Oswald had stopped at the yellow house he'd seen a year ago today. _Do I have to take him in? Nope. Too sad, _he thought.

"This house right here. It used to be my house when I lived in the real world and not the Wasteland," Oswald began to cry now. "I looked over at it one day thinking, _Wait a minute, my house is green!_ And sure enough I go inside and it wasn't my house at all!" Oswald was holding back tears.

"Are you okay?" asked the Mad Doctor.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. But my point is that it was _his _fault! The mouse replaced us!"

"So that's how I got here?" asked the Doctor again.

"Yes," replied Oswald. "Did you want to come see my mansion?"

"I've lived in Toontown for as long as I can remember. You do NOT have a mansion!" said the Mad Doctor in disbelief.

"You're right," assured Oswald. "I didn't have a mansion in the real world, so I built one in this world. Maybe we could even build one for you, too!"

"Wouldn't that take a long time?" asked the Mad Doctor.

"When I built mine, it only took me a year. That's how long I've been in here! What was I doing again?"

"Um- Your mansion?"

"Yeah, that."

So as it would seem, Oswald had finally made a friend, which made things in Wasteland not so bad anymore. It was great for Oswald to have that interaction after being isolated for roughly a year. The poor fellow needed a friend in a time like this. Unfortunately for the Mad Doctor, he'd learned who replaced him on the first day in the Wasteland, but as Oswald reasoned, what doesn't kill you can only make you stronger. Well said, Os.


	4. 1945

**Chapter Three: 1945**

The Mad Doctor, though delighted with the coolness of Oswald's mansion, was hoping there was somebody else here, as well. He also thought it fair that if Wasteland's town were named after Oswald, then he should get to name something, too. So today would be the day that the two of them sailed out to find something for him to name. Then they remembered Unnamed Island that the Mad Doctor first appeared on and sailed out to that. The water was crisp and blue and the boat was a chocolatey colored brown upon the waves.

"Hey, Oswald?" asked the Mad Doctor.

"Yeah, buddy?" Oswald responded.

"I found this paintbrush the other day back in town," the Mad Doctor said. Wasteland didn't exactly foster the best conversations, it being a deserted land and all.

Finally the two and their boat arrived on the dock of Unnamed Island. They left the boat and walked on to the Island's shores. On it there was a large mountain of nothing but sand.

"Here we go," said Oswald. "This is something you could name, right here. You could even call it: The Mad Doctor Island."

"Meh, I think it looks more like a Dennis," replied the Mad Doctor.

"I really don't see it," added Oswald.

There was a bit of silence before the Mad Doctor returned to speaking.

"If I think of a name for this place, I'll tell you, okay?" said the Mad Doctor.

"Okay," replied Oswald.

Oswald and the Mad Doctor got back into their small rowboat and headed off to the mainland when a big, square object came from out of nowhere onto to the top of the mountain. The sound it made went something like a THUD!

"Did you hear that?" asked Oswald in mid-paddle.

"Yep," said the Mad Doctor. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" he added.

"Thud Mountain!" they both said at the same time.

1940 dawned a new era of cartoons. The Technicolor era. Those Technicolor cartoons were in full color, replacing the need for black and white toons. Oswald, not even knowing this, was surprised, that by 1945, there were so many more people in Wasteland. Oswald was reunited with a few friends, and they relived some great moments. But best of all, was this technicolor age allowed Oswald to see his lover, Ortensia, once again.

"Oswald, I'm so happy to see you!" exclaimed Ortensia as she gave Oswald a big hug.

"I'm happy to see you, too," he replied. "I do have a question, though. How come everyone else fainted at the party that day, too?"

"Oh, that. Someone put Advil in the punch bowl," she said. "How long have you been here?"

"Baby, I was the first _one _here," said Oswald. "I even named the town after myself. Look!"

Ortensia looked around the town and noticed a difference in the town's name. _OsTown,_ she thought. _That's kinda funny._

"Also, I have a mansion at the end of the block," explained Oswald. "Maybe you and I could go there, and you could live with me."

"Thanks so much, Oswald, but I'd rather live in my own house," replied Ortensia.

"Alright then. It should still be here. I'll take you there right now."

Oswald searched for the Mad Doctor in a crowd of black and white cartoon characters. That's right, a crowd. Once Oswald found him, he told him where he was going and that he'd be right back. Then, Oswald and Ortensia headed for the neighborhoods while holding hands. They talked about how much they missed each other, what had happened with one another while they were separated, and they even shared a kiss. Oswald wished the walk could have been longer, but Ortensia's house was getting quite close. As Oswald remembered, it was the yellow house with the pink roof on it. The first house you see when you walk into the neighborhood. But unfortunately, this was not the house they thought it was.

Instead of a yellow house with a pink roof, this was a pink house with a red roof. Again, they switched houses on Oswald and Ortensia. The couple, still determined to find Ortensia's house, opened the door and walked through the threshold.

"This isn't my house at all," complained Ortensia.

"It's the right address," Oswald responded.

There was an awkward silence between the two of them.

"It might not be your house, but I have an idea of whose house it might be," he added.

"Are you sure?" asked Ortensia. "How do you know?"

"Don't ask me how, I just do."

Oswald took a moment to think this one over. _Okay. So there was that mouse who got in to my house and I discovered that because of the picture on his mantle. Really my mantle, but his house replaced mine, so now it's his mantle. Dammit, and I really loved that mantle, too. It was the perfect centerpiece. No, no, no, no, no! Back to what I was thinking before! Alright. What did the note on that mantle say? Come on, Oswald, there was a picture on the mantle that had a note in it. What did it say? Never mind that, it was from his girlfriend! Bingo! The note was from the mouse's girlfriend! So if Ortensia and I were the first couple and the guy mouse replaced me, then maybe this new house in the neighborhood belongs to the mouse's girlfriend! I figured it out! _

As you can see, Oswald's mind went a mile a minute in that musing of his.

"Ortensia, this isn't your house," declared Oswald.

"Well then, where is my house?" she asked.

"Unfortunately, it's not here. The reason your here, the reason everyone's here, is because us toons are forgotten, rejected, or replaced. In our case, babe, we got replaced," explained Oswald. "Errgh! I wish I didn't have to tell you that!" he added shortly after.

"It's okay, Oswald. I really don't mind," replied Ortensia. "But hey. Maybe now I can live with you in your mansion."

"That would be great, Ortensia."


End file.
